Steel wool for metal polishing...when to use and when not to use?

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Rez90

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I recently read that a lot of people use 0000 steel wool with their metal polish to polish metal and tailpipes. I never really got the results I wanted from a rag with polish so I figured I'd give it a try.

I went to lowes and picked up a package of 0000 steel wool, cleaned up my GTR and proceeded to polish. I polished the tips until the residue turned blackish (optimum metal polish) and buffed with a microfiber. What I found after was interesting.

The tips were definitely brightened up but I feel like using the steel wool it removed some of the shine (under the initial filth) that was on the tips and left me with more of a raw metal look. It was clean as a whistle but it also appeared to have left a bizillion micro scratches on it as well.

The tips aren't ruined and frankly have never looked cleaner...but I'm wondering if using the steel wool on them was a mistake.

So...are there any general guidelines to when to and when not to use steel wool for metal polishing?

Thanks much.
 
maybe try 3000 grit sandpaper and clean it up with more metal polish and a dremel? It's not chrome plated is it?
 
One thing I like to use is bronze wool its softer than the 0000 steel wool I use it on my chrome on my motorcycle and works real nice u can get it at ace hardware
 
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I only use steel wool on stainless steel tips that are trashed.

I didn't know you had a GTR!!!!!!!
 
07 z-oh-6 said:
I only use steel wool on stainless steel tips that are trashed.

I didn't know you had a GTR!!!!!!!
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Yes Sir :xyxthumbs:

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Steel wool particles left behind will eventually rust, so be prepared for that.

The steel will scratch the stainless, leaving a matte type of finish. The microscratch pattern of steel wool isn't very consistent, so you'll notice the lack of shine, as you did.
 
forrest@mothers said:
Steel wool particles left behind will eventually rust, so be prepared for that.

The steel will scratch the stainless, leaving a matte type of finish. The microscratch pattern of steel wool isn't very consistent, so you'll notice the lack of shine, as you did.
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I feel like there should be more to this message.....


AND.......... :dblthumb2:
 
Well, I guess I can write more words:

The steel wool will leave little fibers in the scratch pattern's jagged edges. These little fibers will rust, meaning the exhaust tips will show rust marks. It's not the exhaust tips themselves, but the fibers leftover from steel wool.

Even though the steel wool used was 0000, it's coarse by comparison to the smooth finish that the exhaust tips had. That's why the tips now have a brushed/raw look to them. They can be polished back up to a higher shine, but since stainless is hard, the process will require more effort than aluminum would.

If you do want to return a high shine to them, stainless is one area where speed will be your friend if you use a mechanical aid - polish and a higher speed on a drill with an attachment will help reduce the effort and time involved.
 
I've polished a lot of metal and have never used steel wool as part of the polishing process. The scratches in your tips are no different from scratches and swirls in paint just a harder surface but the correction steps are the same. You’re going to need to sand the scratches out with wet sanding paper to make them more uniform, there is no other way. Obviously start with the finest grit you can to do the correction. When polishing metal I don’t use water with the wet dry paper I use WD40. There is no need to soak it first and yes it’s messy but the paper will last a lot longer. Simply start off with a grit that is going to level out the scratches that you currently have and work up to a finer grit. An easy way to tell when to move to the next grade is to sand in opposite directions with each grade. Once you can only see scratches going in the direction you are sanding then move to the next finer grit. Depending on whether you are going to finish off by hand or machine will determine how fine you need to go, if finishing off by hand then I would go up to 2500 or maybe even 3000. Obviously the finer you go the easier it will be to polish in the end. By using this process you can have stainless looking like a mirror.

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No disrespect rzatch, but what grit sandpaper would you reccomend for 0000 scratch removal?
 
None taken, not sure why there would be but anyway. It's hard to say without actually seeing the scratches.

0000 steelwool is not even close to being uniform in size or texture and there are many varibles that come into play it's hard to say start here. Depending if the user was aggressive when they were using it, how clean the metal was before they scrubbed it, were they grinding in dirt along with the coarsness of the steelwool, so the scratches could be of varying depth and that is going to determine your starting point. Sometimes it's just trial and error just like correcting paint.

Your best to start with the finest paper you can and see if it removes them, if not move down to the next grit. If I were to give you a starting point to get out the typical scratches I would say start with 2000. You can always go corser if you need to. You'll know pretty quick if it going to cut it or not.

Hope I answered your question.
 
Vegas Transplant said:
No disrespect rzatch, but what grit sandpaper would you reccomend for 0000 scratch removal?
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rzatch said:
None taken, not sure why there would be but anyway. It's hard to say without actually seeing the scratches.
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I don't know why there would be any disrespect either, there's nothing disrespectful about asking an honest question. :dunno:

Rzatch, thanks for your quick guide to polishing up stainless. It seems like after the exhaust tips are polished up, the bronze wool from Ace Hardware mentioned by soto would be ok to use for soot removal without scratching since bronze is softer than stainless. Actually I'm surprised that steel wool scratches stainless. Stainless is quite hard. I never would have guessed that a hard grade of steel would be used for steel wool. Learn something new every day.

-Rick
 
rzatch said:
None taken, not sure why there would be but anyway. It's hard to say without actually seeing the scratches.
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0000 steelwool is not even close to being uniform in size or texture and there are many varibles that come into play it's hard to say start here. Depending if the user was aggressive when they were using it, how clean the metal was before they scrubbed it, were they grinding in dirt along with the coarsness of the steelwool, so the scratches could be of varying depth and that is going to determine your starting point. Sometimes it's just trial and error just like correcting paint.

Your best to start with the finest paper you can and see if it removes them, if not move down to the next grit. If I were to give you a starting point to get out the typical scratches I would say start with 2000. You can always go corser if you need to. You'll know pretty quick if it going to cut it or not.

Hope I answered your question.[/QUOTE]

I have a tendency to post excessively at times. My thought would be to polish(correct) first, with a polish made for stainless; least aggressive method first. The lesser of two evils (as opposed to sanding).

Rix6 said:
I don't know why there would be any disrespect either, there's nothing disrespectful about asking an honest question. :dunno:

Rzatch, thanks for your quick guide to polishing up stainless. It seems like after the exhaust tips are polished up, the bronze wool from Ace Hardware mentioned by soto would be ok to use for soot removal without scratching since bronze is softer than stainless. Actually I'm surprised that steel wool scratches stainless. Stainless is quite hard. I never would have guessed that a hard grade of steel would be used for steel wool. Learn something new every day.

-Rick
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What makes you think that bronze wool would not scratch SS. We are not talking rocket science.
 
have you tried to repolish the tips now with a metal finishing polish ??? I find using something like English Custom Polishes Showmans Version or Custom Blend to work extremely well after brass/steel wool.
 
shoeless89 said:
I gotta try some bronze wool!
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I agree. I too need to try this product - especially on my next wood finishing project.

Stainless is hard. It eats up sandpaper, and it takes longer to sand than you may imagine. If you don't sand each grit thoroughly, and get all of the scratches from the previous grit , what you end up with is highly polished scratches. IMO and others at a Metal Polishing and Finishing forum that I belong to, you have to use a machine to finish out flawlessly.
 
Vegas Transplant said:
I agree. I too need to try this product - especially on my next wood finishing project.

Stainless is hard. It eats up sandpaper, and it takes longer to sand than you may imagine. If you don't sand each grit thoroughly, and get all of the scratches from the previous grit , what you end up with is highly polished scratches. IMO and others at a Metal Polishing and Finishing forum that I belong to, you have to use a machine to finish out flawlessly.
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Had no idea such a forum existed. What is it called?
 
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